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31 December 2016

Sorrys, Thank Yous, and Goodbyes for 2016

12/24/2016 10:09:16 PM


Don't get me wrong. I didn't write this post because I want to end the year right now (well, maybe at some point but sine I don't have the power to do so, sorry na lang ako, hahaha!). But since I am planning to do some massive revamps in my life by after Christmas, might as well write something very personal to cap the year.

While 2016 has been a rocky road in the world of news – from passing of the celebrities to passing the torch on politics – probably some people have felt the same way. It wasn't been a good year for them either. It was NOT the year.

The Rundown Slam: WWE Roadblock End Of The Line

12/30/2016 02:53:10 PM 



The World Wrestling Entertainment got their specials boosted up as they end the year with a RAW-exclusive pay per view (PPV) gig called Roadblock: End Of The Line. And frankly, it wasn't a bad show to culminate WWE's run this 2016.

30 December 2016

Flick Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

12/26/2016 11:35:01 PM

Photo credits: joblo.com
To be honest, reviewing this film might be deemed unfair on both my end and yours. Well, in the first place, I am not really a fan of this galaxy-storified movie saga called Star Wars (But don't get me wrong; I don't hate it either). However, yours truly managed to watch this movie courtesy of my other task as a blog contributor for the entertainment startup Star Powerhouse and MySky. 

So I saw this movie last week and boy, this appeared to be different from the franchise itself. Well, indeed it is because Rogue One was aimed and delivered to be the first stand-alone movie from the Star Wars saga, with characters different from what has been familiar to me before. Apart from Princess Leila and Darth Vader, who else have at least ring a bell for me there? 

29 December 2016

Upcoming: Docdefy IV

12/29/2016 10:45:41 PM



There are some yearend gatherings around the metropolitan, big or small. Sometimes, they would set them on the 30th of December, second to the final day of the year. And some of these final bang events would take centerstage on Marikina City.

That being said, the eastern side of Metro Manila will be the pinnacle point of the final Friday evening of 2016 as Docdef Productions will slate their anniversary gig afar from what has been the typical one. 

27 December 2016

PlayBack: Yuletide Blends (album)

12/26/2016 05:49:06 PM

Since Christmas here in the Philippines runs from September to early January, it has been said that Christmas songs are very rampant; it is virtually present around every medium from traditional (radio and television) to the new ones (mobile and Internet). Musicians from their respective ages and genres do their respective covers in their own ways and means. 

While original albums like the vintage Christmas In Our Hearts do make a share of living, it is undeniable that a lot of singers belt their own cuts of those timeless holiday hits like Mariah Carey two decades ago (All I Want For Christmas Is You, O Holy Night).

That being said, here we segue to what has R & C Infinity Entertainment has been offering to everyone, dampening the spirit of holidays in what has been a grueling 2016 (well, so far). 

26 December 2016

Change Is Coming (sa MMFF)?!

12/26/2016 03:05:30 PM

Photo credits: ABS-CBN News
Ito ang hirap sa mga tao dito sa Pilipinas eh. Gusto ng pagbabago, pero pag andyan na yung pagbabago, panay pa rin naman ang reklamo. Minsan, ang hirap lang lumugar.

Kung maalala, noong isang buwan ay inanunsyo na ang walong opisyal na kalahok sa ika-42 na Metro Manila Film Festival, bagay na umani ng samu't saring reasyon – pero isa sa mga ehekutibo ng kilalang film ang umangal. 

The Scene Around: Last Christmas, I Gave You My #Art

12/25/2016 11:57:29 PM

Apart from doing their weekly Monday gig, Pinoytuner organized a party just in time for Christmas, and it was as artsy popsy as fuck with the title Last Christmas, I Gave You My #art.

22 December 2016

The Scene Around: An Honest Mistake at ZILI

12/21/2016 02:39:50 PM 


As part of their recent visit in the country (their ninth, in fact!), Malaysian pop punk and rock band An Honest Mistake staged an intimate outing on a Sunday night in the Easternmost part – and a bit away from the nation's capitol Manila. And it's far different from what they had in their recent biggest gig Threadfest.

21 December 2016

The Scene Around: Yuletide Blends Album Launch

12/21/2016 01:16:36 PM

The past Saturday afternoon has sent the warm holiday spirit the cozy way as R & C Infinity Entertainment Management formally launched a compilation-album in time for Christmas titled "Yuletide Blends" Historia Botique and Bar in Quezon City.

The eight-tracked album comprised of various famous Christmas songs rendered by the seven of their finest artists – and also done in so many ways than one. 

19 December 2016

Starbucks Season

12/13/2016 09:33:57 PM

At kapag usapang Pasko, maraming kahulugan yan, either: kahulugan yan ng pag-silang ni Hesukristo na tinuturing na isang tagapagligitas at tinawag  na “emanwel”; isang araw na bagamat hindi ganun kasagrado sa mata nila ay nagpapakita lamang ng diwa ng pagmamahal sa sangkatauhan kahit sa isang araw man lang; o sa mata ng mga negosyante ay isa itong malaking peak season mula pelikula hanggang sale at kung anu-anong promo mula sa iyong mga paboritong brand.

18 December 2016

The Pre-Take: WWE Roadblock End Of The Line

12/14/2016 02:21:11 PM

Photo credit: heavy.com
I have a strange feeling that this second edition of WWE RoadBlock will look like just a bit extended RAW show in one way or another. Well, with seven matches – one on the kickoff show, expect half of them to be a bunch of extenders along the way with spiels and promo videos trying to do so help in an expected 3 ½ hour show to culminate the WWE PPV schedule of this year.

17 December 2016

The Scene Around: Revolver Duality (Heels & Faces)

12/14/2016 10:31:03 AM



In a middle of a busy weekend, I had another raket aside from covering the E-sports and Gaming Summit; so that speaks for the reason why I am still in the down southern part of Metropolitan Manila during that Saturday night as manning the gates of Revolver's monthly gig.

16 December 2016

The Scene Around: LRT 1 Soundtrack

12/15/2016 03:08:50 PM


LRT 1 Soundtrack just hit their third leg of a series so far this year, and it doesn't get any bigger than this with two instant crowd-drawers in the group of the up-comers right now.

The Scene Around: Calypso

12/15/2016 02:49:55 PM 


Docdef Productions teamed up with Jam 88.3 in cooperation with Locked Down Entertainment in a Friday night full of awesome music an packed of Pale Pilsen.

15 December 2016

The Scene Around: General Marcelo

12/14/2016 10:07:06 AM

It was a final night of November to remember as Red Ninja Productions staged a double birthday celebration for their photographer John Marcelo and host Patty General in what has been a Bonifacio day-like fashion titled General Marcelo.

14 December 2016

PlayBack: Oh, Flamingo! - Inconsistencies (Music Video)

12/08/2016 09:03:20 AM

Two music videos were released by this young and hip indie pop band Oh, Flamingo, with the second going as dramatic as their first song of their self-titled EP.

13 December 2016

The Rundown Slam: WWE TLC 2016

12/13/2016 10:42:47 PM



It is SmackDown's last hurrah to woo the competition for 2016 as we look forward to the Royal Rumble season afterwards. This is the World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) own version of what they called Demolition Derby called TLC – Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. 

12 December 2016

StopOver: Route 196

10/25/2016 03:18:38 PM


When I first stormed by the indie music scene, this bar in the upper-terrain Blue Ridge was my first place-to-be. And why not? From my residence, it was just a mere 20-minute walk for me to reach there, unless I am lazy enough.

Established in 2006, Route 196 is tagged by many as the premier live music venue in the Northern side of Metropolitan. Located at just beside one the main gates of Blue Ridge Subdivision, it was barely accessible for every music lover, especially if a resident within the vicinity of Marikina-Project 4-Xavierville or studying at the Northern version of U-belt (UP and Ateneo).

11 December 2016

One Night Stand Gone Naught

12/08/2016 03:35:59 PM


It is barely three weeks since we have last seen one of the shocking moments in WWE this year. Just when we thought of Seth Rollins' return, Zack Ryder's WrestleMania moment, AJ Styles's Royal Rumble cameo, or a double cross by Triple H as the top moments that had made us talking, we were wrong.

It was at the 20th of November, during the 30th annual Survivor Series, we had a main event that was shorter than what we even expect from those kickoff matches. Bill Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar not only in absolute dominating fashion, but in an instant as well.

Heck, not even a quarter of the time they hyped this shit at all. 

The Scene Around: Jazz Night with Tom's Story

12/08/2016 02:34:50 PM

Barely a year after hitting their monthly dues at Mow's Bar, upcoming band The Modern Playground made a bold move in their usual gigs by inviting other artists to come over – at the same time, make their fans get some interest not just in their band but to the music they are offering as well. 

10 December 2016

09 December 2016

Meeting An Honest Mistake (Without the Need of Committing One, Literally)

12/06/2016 05:53:32 PM


Meet Darren Teh, Leonard Chua, Tomas Tam, and Ian Ng. They're four men from different cities and from different musical backgrounds who comprised An Honest Mistake, one of the top bands from the pop rock scene in Malaysia. And they just paid a visit to the Philippines for the ninth time since its formation in 2008 – first as talents of Universal Music Malaysia.

The band dropped by once again in the nation's capitol as the only foreign band to headline Threadfest Manila 2016, one of the biggest music events that held at B-Side, The Collective in Makati City on 22 November 2016. Apart from that, An Honest Mistake also held a special acoustic gig held the next evening at Zili Restaurant & Bar in Cainta, Rizal.

They were introduced by our local counterparts MCA Music Inc. (Universal Music Philippines) with formality to the much-wider audience. Asked about how things went on from indie to mainstream the band tells their whole story.

08 December 2016

The Scene Around: Raoul and The Wild Tortillas “Tribute To The Philippines” Album Launch

12/06/2016 09:00:48 PM


Raoul Imbach has taken his musical journey into another while level as The Singing Diplomat launched a record that served his collection of musings about a country whom he served for the past three years – a 14-track album from his group Raoul and The Wild Tortillas titled “Tribute To The Philippines.”

07 December 2016

The Scene Around: LRT 1 Soundtrack

12/06/2016 11:26:23 PM

It was a rare thing to see musicians share their craft in front of the riding public for free. We have seen them before with Rock Da Riles, a project by RockEd Philippines and their stage usually situated at selected stations around the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

This year, though, witnessed another similar emergence, with some of the upcoming bands from the indie scene perform in a random Friday afternoon at the Doroteo Jose station of Light Rail Tranist (LRT) Line 1 in Manila.

06 December 2016

Visioning A New Strain

12/06/2016 04:41:27 AM

Photo by Roxanne Nebres
After one and a half decade in the stratosphere of Pinoy rock, band frontman Gabby Alipe has taken on a different challenge just like the rockstars came before him – being a solo artist. Barely a year after Urbandub went on hiatus, Alipe hit the notes once again – much apart from managing talents in Nemesis Music Group and focusing on his family as well – by releasing an all-new material, a six-track EP titled A New Strain.

The Scene Around: Gabby Alipe "A New Strain" EP Launch

12/06/2016 03:47:14 AM


It was during that fateful Friday night in November when one of the gems in the Filipino rock has solidified his status as a one-man act. And this time, Gabby Alipe wasn't the same old Cebuano rock star we all know.

While the famed front man took the helm of Urbandub for 15 years, being a soloist was a whole new different journey. After grueling process of song-making with producer Eric Perlas, Alipe released a six-track EP titled A New Strain, on November 11 and 12 at the A Space Gallery in Legazpi Village, Makati City. 

05 December 2016

The Scene Around: Blogapalooza Charting The Uncharted Horizons 2.0

11/05/2016 09:11:42 PM

After five years of being successful, the second installment of this year's Blogapalooza lived up to their title – literally, they have shown horizons in charting the uncharted this past Saturday, 5 November 2016, at the Novotel Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

The day was filled by enriching talks, depicting the How-Tos on being an effective influencer through blogging and social media.

The Pre-take: WWE TLC 2016

12/04/2016 07:15:30 PM

Photo credts: Forbes
It's that time of the year where Christmas is served here at WWE the barbaric way – as similar to what they called Demolition Derby. Though there is a Roadblock PPV after this one, let's say this is SmackDown's last chance to end the year with a bang as the blue-branded program will stage their exclusive event called TLC – that is Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, ladies and gentlemen.

Six matches were about to be slated in the special.

04 December 2016

The Rundown Slam: WWE Survivor Series 2016

12/04/2016 04:18:11 PM


Survivor Series has come big time as the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) celebrated the 30th year of the event's existence with three Survivor Series matches between the brands RAW and SmackDown Live.

03 December 2016

The Scene Around: Who Is Wasted Wendy?

10/24/2016 06:29:49 PM



One question: Who is Wasted Wendy? That question was answered on Thursday, 20 October 2016, at SaGuijo Bar in Makati City as We Are The Underdogs Productions staged their seventh installment of the WAT UP Mix series.

02 December 2016

The Scene Around: Stanley Chi Pogi Points Book Launch (2012)

12/01/2016 11:31:45 PM

Photographed by Dennyl B. Venzon; obtained at Stanley Chi's Facebook page.
Talk about a holiday flashback. We go back to four years ago. It was the first of December 2012 at the branch of National Book Store in Shangri-la Mall in Mandaluyong City as Stanley Chi launched his book that set himself apart from being the Suplado guy we know.

Bars Fight: Loonie vs. Tipsy D (Isabuhay 2016 Semis)

11/09/2016 10:56:52 AM

Hindi na ako magtataka kung bakit napaka-classic ng laban na ito para sa mgayong taon. Imagine mo: isang hari ng tugma at ang isa sa mga magagaling na rapper mula sa Central Luzon, nagkasagupa sa semifinals ng Isabuhay tournament ng FlipTop. Pangalan pa lang, mabigat na. What more pa kaya ang performance nila.

01 December 2016

The Rundown Slam: NXT Take Over Toronto

12/01/2016 09:24:07 PM


Better late than never, as they say, but an NXT special just kicked off the historic Survivor Series weekend; and it just got the right blend to hit the WWE's last annual big weekend of the year with a bang.